Real? Virtual
Representing Architectural Time and Space
Ancient Architecture
Byzantine Architecture
Medieval Architecture
Renaissance Architecture
Baroque Architecture
19 Century Architecture
Modern Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Columbia University
+   Department of Art History and Archaeology
+   Visual Media Center
+   National Endowment for the Humanities

 
INTRODUCTION    
Read an introduction to the topic of Ancient Architecture in the context of this resource.
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360° PANORAMAS INTERACTIVE PLAN(S) FEATURED PROJECT(S)
Explore a number of ancient architectural spaces using QuickTime technology.


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Fully experience an architectural space with QuickTime panoramas mapped to a plan.

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Visit a specialized project designed to support and enhance undergraduate education.

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During the fifth century BCE, the architecture of ancient Greece achieved an unprecedented level of accomplishment in the buildings on the Acropolis in Athens. The Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, was one of the most famous buildings in the ancient world and today remains an essential subject for the study of Classical Greek art and architecture. Built during the administration of Pericles following the Athenian's victory over the Persians, the temple was the principal site of worship and civic ceremony expressed in the Panathenaic Procession. The Parthenon is probably the most carefully surveyed and measured building surviving from the ancient world providing a substantial base of data for modern architectural historians. Structurally, the building depends on the post-and-lintel method of construction. The base measures some 225 feet in length and 100 feet in width, and the columns, designed in the Doric Order, reach a height of 34 feet. The names of the architects, Iktinos and Kallikrates, have been preserved, and the rich sculptural decoration was supervised by Phidias. The sculptural program included a frieze narrating the Panathenaic Procession, metopes depicting the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs, and, in the pediments, the Contest Between Athena and Poseidon (west) and the Birth of Athena (east).



The architecture of Classical Greece became a cornerstone of later developments in the history of architecture, from the Roman Empire through the twentieth century. As an object of both imitation and inspiration, the Parthenon epitomizes the ideals of its creators, and a model for modern students and scholars.
INTRODUCTION

360° PANORAMAS
Amheida (Egypt)

Exterior view #1
Exterior view #2
Exterior view #3
Exterior view #4
Exterior view #5
Exterior view #6
Exterior view #7
Exterior view #8
Exterior view #9
Exterior view #10
Athens (Greece)

Distant view of the Acropolis from the northwest

Panoramic view of Athens and the Acropolis from Mt. Lykabettos

Building: Parthenon (Acropolis)
Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates
Date: 447–432 BCE
Exterior view of east facade
Exterior view of northeast corner
Exterior view of southeast corner
Exterior view of southwest corner #1
Exterior view of southwest corner #2
Exterior view of west facade
Exterior view of south facade

Exterior view between Eretheion and Parthenon
Exterior view of Parthenon, Propylaea, and Erectheion


Athens (Greece) continued...

Building: Erectheion (Acropolis)
Architect: Mnesicles
Date: 421–405 BCE
Exterior view between Eretheion and Parthenon
Exterior view of Parthenon, Propylaea, and Erectheion
Exterior view of east facade
Exterior view #1 of north facade
Exterior view #2 of north facade
Exterior view of west facade
Building: Propylaea (Acropolis)
Architect: Athens (Greece) tect: Mnesicles
Date: 437–432 BCE
Exterior view #1
Exterior view #2
Exterior view #3
Building: Theater of Dionysios and remains of the Temple of Dionysios
Date: ca. 400 BCE
Exterior view
Athens (Greece) continued...

Building: Hephaisteion (Agora)
Date: 449 BCE
Exterior view
Evora (Portugal)

Building: Temple of Diana (Roman Temple)
Date: 1st Century CE

Exterior view
Nashville (TN)

Building: Parthenon (replica)
Architect: Hart, Russell
Date: Originally built 1897, reconstructed 1921–31
Exterior view #1 of the pronaos
Exterior view #2 of the pronaos
Exterior view #1 of the south flank
Exterior view #2 of the south flank
Exterior view #3 of the south flank
Exterior view of the southeast corner
Exterior view #1 of the west facade
Exterior view #2 of the west facade
Nashville (TN) continued...

Exterior of the opisthodomos
Exterior view from the northeast corner
Exterior view of the east facade and peristyle
Exterior view of the east facade
Exterior view of the peristyle from the northeast corner
Exterior view of the peristyle from the southeast corner
Exterior view of the peristyle

Interior view of the naos behind the replica of Athena Parthenos
Interior view of the naos from the base of Athena Parthenos
Interior view of the naos
Interior view of the opisthodomos

Rome (Italy)

Building: Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (Basilica Nova)
Date: 306-313 CE

East Bay #1
East Bay #2
Center Bay
West Bay

Rome (Italy) ...

Building: Baths of Caracalla
Date: 212-217 CE

Interior View #1
Interior View #2
Interior View #3
Interior View #4
Interior View #5
Interior View #6
Interior View #7
Interior View #8
Interior View #9
Interior View #10
Interior View #11
Interior View #12
Interior View #13
Interior View #14
Interior View #15
Interior View #16
Interior View #17
Interior View #18
Interior View #19
Interior View #20
Interior View #21
Interior View #22
Interior View #23
Exterior View #1
Exterior View #2
Exterior View #3

Rome (Italy) ...

Building: Colosseum
Date: 70-82 CE

Interior view of first floor passageway
Interior view of second floor passageway
Interior view of stadium #1
Interior view of stadium #2
Exterior view by Arch of Constantine

Building: Domus Aurea (Golden House of Nero)
Architects: Severus and Celer
Date: After 64 CE

Interior view #1 (high res | low res)
Interior view #2 (high res | low res)
Interior view #3 (high res | low res)
Interior view #4 (high res | low res)

Building: Forum (Forum Romanum)

Exterior view #1 (high res | low res)
Exterior view #2 (high res)

Exterior view #3 (high res | low res)
Exterior view #4 (high res | low res)
Exterior view #5 (high res | low res)
Exterior view #6 (high res | low res)

Rome (Italy) ...

Building: Pantheon
Date: 118-126 CE

Interior view from center
Interior view from side
Interior view from center at night
Interior view from side at night
Exterior view from porch
Exterior view from piazza #1
Exterior view from piazza #2
Exterior view #1
Exterior view #2
Exterior view #3
Exterior view #4
Exterior view #5
Exterior view #6
Exterior view #7
Exterior view #8
Exterior view #9
Exterior view #10
Exterior view #11
Exterior view #12
Exterior view #13
Exterior view #14
Exterior view #15

 


 


Selinunte (Sicily)

Site: Acropolis

View of the entrance to the sanctuary
View from the North Gate
View from on top of the tumble of Temple C View of Temple C from the base of Temple D
View from the base of Temple C, south side
View of archaic structure to the west of Temple B and south of Temple C
View of Temple E

Buidling: Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros.

View from the Altar
View from the alter from inside the remains of the temple (megaron)
View of the inside the remains of the Propylaia of the sanctuary
View at the water channel outside of the temple (megaron)

 

Siracusa (Sicily)

Building: Roman Amphitheater
Date: possibly the first centuray AD

View of the amphitheater

Taoromina (Sicily)

Building: Greek Theater
Date: 4th century BC, rebuilt 1st - 3rd Century

View of the theater from the top
View of the theater from the floor

 

INTERACTIVE PLAN(S)
Parthenon 360: Nashville (TN)
Experience the Nashville Parthenon 360° Interactive Plan. Go there.
FEATURED PROJECT(S)
Acropolis 360: Nashville (TN)  
Experience the Acropolis 360° Web site. Go there.
 


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